Does the perfect skincare routine exist? Even though aiming for perfection is often frustrating, having the right skincare routine is what we should aim for. We usually commit several avoidable mistakes in our beauty routines, so the tips and tricks you’ll find on this guide will certainly help you take better care of your skin!
Hello hello! Today I want to talk about the most common mistakes that we have all made when taking care of our skin. Normally, when we begin to worry about our skin, we think that the proper way to do it is to cleanse it with all our energy and apply half a jar of moisturizer (whenever we remember that it exists). The truth is that taking good care of our skin is easy if you know how.
In this article I wanted to include the ten most common mistakes, although that does not mean that they are all that can be committed. Here is my list with the most important ones, read on to find out why by committing them you are not helping your skin.
- Not using sunscreen.
- Not drinking enough water.
- Not patch testing.
- Sleeping with makeup on.
- Using too aggressive cleansers.
- Touching your face.
- Using expired cosmetics.
- Abusing acids.
- Applying products directly on your face.
- Not being patient and constant with your skincare routines.
1. NOT USING SUNSCREEN.
I am very insistent with sunscreen, we have to use it daily, without exception. Yes, even if it is cloudy or raining. It is not worth using it exclusively when going to the beach. Sunscreen is necessary even if you don’t leave the office or car. And why? Because ultraviolet rays constantly damage our skin, increasing the risk of cancer and making the signs of aging more visible. Using a SPF50 and PA ++++ sunscreen (in this article I explain what that really means) we protect ourselves against 98% of radiation. It is a very simple gesture and it helps you prevent very serious health problems, so don’t forget to apply a good sunscreen every morning (and reapply it later). Do not think that the sunscreen has to be dense or very thick, today there are super light ones that give us fantastic protection. If you still haven’t found your perfect sunscreen, here is a comparison with some of the best I’ve used.
2. NOT DRINKING ENOUGH WATER.
Normally, we have such an accelerated life that we do not allow ourselves to stop for a moment to drink a glass of water, and we are not aware of the importance of this gesture.
Water is one of the most important components of our skin. It is present in all its layers, helping to maintain its structure (in other words, preventing the appearance of wrinkles) and protecting us against many external agents such as pollution, ultraviolet radiation, dust, temperature, etc. If we do not drink enough water, our body will not function properly and our skin will end up resenting. Being dehydrated, acne breakouts will be more frequent and wrinkles and expression lines will appear more easily. The solution? On the one hand, it is important that you drink at least two liters of water a day. In addition, it is necessary that you keep your skin well hydrated. A good moisturizer will help you keep your skin in perfect shape, here I explain how to find the ideal one for your skin type.
3. NOT PATCH TESTING.
In this other article I told you in detail about patch testing. This tolerance test allows us to see if our skin reacts well to a product before fully introducing it into our beauty routines. This way, if the product causes any unwanted reaction, we will know that it can be potentially irritating.
I understand that when we buy a new cosmetic it is very easy to get carried away and want to start using it immediately. However, if we do not do the patch test correctly, that product may cause irritation. By doing the patch test we avoid that potential negative reaction occurs in our entire face, limiting it to a small piece of skin behind our ear or arm. Remember that the patch test is not infallible, so you must incorporate the products into your routine one by one to confirm that your skin tolerates them properly. It is possible that you have never had any problem of this type, but I assure you that you will be glad to have detected it in advance instead of damaging the skin of your face.
4. SLEEPING WITH MAKEUP ON.
This has happened to all of us: we arrive home at night, sleepy and wanting to sleep until noon. Suddenly, you look in the mirror and realize that you still have to do your skincare routine. You probably think: well, it’s okay to not remove makeup just for today. Wrong!
By sleeping with makeup on your skin, you contribute to dehydration and do not nourish it properly. On the other hand, by not washing your face, all the impurities that have been deposited on your face (including makeup itself), can clog pores and facilitate the action of free radicals (molecules that, in the case of skin, are dedicated to damaging other cells, accelerating aging and the appearance of wrinkles and expression lines).
I know that sometimes you feel very lazy (and so do I), but the sensation of sleeping with a clean and hydrated face is much better than with makeup on the skin. In addition, your skin will be thankful for those five minutes that you dedicate to your skincare routine.
Remember that the best way to remove make-up is through double cleansing, since this way you will be able to effectively remove both makeup and other impurities. To do this, first use an oil-based cleaner (like the Klairs Gentle Black Deep Cleansing Oil, which you can find on Wishtrend, on Yesstyle, and on href=”https://amzn.to/2WcYOhl”>Amazon), and then another water-based cleaner (like this ByWishtrend Acid-Duo 2% Mild Gel Cleanser, available on Wishtrend, on Yesstyle, and on Amazon).
5. USING TOO AGGRESSIVE CLEANSERS.
This is one of the most classic mistakes in our beauty routines, especially if you have oily or combination skin (like me). We usually think that if our skin is especially oily or we have pimples, the solution is to use a powerful cleanser that removes all that excess oil. It would make sense, wouldn’t it? Less oil means less pimples. I’m sorry to tell you that our skin doesn’t work like that.
As you probably remember from this other article, the most superficial layer of the skin is made up of an oil and water emulsion. If there is not a proper balance, the skin tends to seek it, producing more of one or the other. And why do you have to know this? Because, by using too aggressive cleansers, we dehydrate our skin and it tries to regain its balance by producing more oil than it needs. In this way, we enter a cycle in which we want to wash our face more (and with increasingly powerful products) but in doing so we only achieve a greater imbalance and that more pimples appear.
I have focused on the example of acne, but this is applicable to all cases, since the use of too aggressive cleansers also makes it easier for those who have dry skin to notice it a tighter feeling (due to that imbalance that I have told you about). Also, if you try to prevent wrinkles and fine lines, these types of cleansers will do just the opposite.
Washing your face well is not difficult, but if you have any doubts, you should definitely read this other article. I advise you to use mild but effective cleansers like this ByWishtrend Acid-Duo 2% Mild Gel Cleanser, available on Wishtrend, on Yesstyle, and on Amazon and that is perfect if you have oily or combination skin, or this other one from Cerave, which you can find on Amazon and on Feelunique and that works great on dry and normal skin.
6. TOUCHING YOUR FACE.
How many times have we been told in our teenage years “You have already touched your face again!” and we have thought “so what? it’s not such a problem”. The reality is that we should not touch our faces. I am not referring exclusively to those so relaxing pimple-extraction sessions in which we finish with all the pimples and blackheads. Generally speaking, the less you touch your face, the better.
Think about all the things you come into contact with on a daily basis: house keys, doors, the computer keyboard, the steering wheel, pens and hundreds of other things that we are not aware of. If you do not wash your hands and touch your face, you are helping all the microorganisms and particles that were on those surfaces to settle on the skin, beginning to damage it unnecessarily. Also, if you have any pimple or wound and you touch it, you are contributing to a possible infection that you will not be grateful for at all.
Do not touch your face except when you go to do your skincare routine. And of course, wash your hands before doing it.
7. USING EXPIRED COSMETICS.
In this article I told you in detail about the expiration of cosmetics.
At some point, we have all found a product lost at the bottom of a drawer or purse and we really wanted to use it. However, when looking closely we saw that it was expired and we thought: what difference does it make? It’s just a cosmetic.
By using expired cosmetics not only we expose ourselves to not obtaining the result we are looking for, but they may cause irritation or other serious dermatological problems. Remember to take a good look at the expiration date of the products and pay attention to the duration of the product once it is opened to avoid expiration before finishing them.
8. ABUSING ACIDS.
Exfoliating acids are perhaps one of the most interesting ingredients that we can incorporate into our skincare routines. However, since they are very powerful ingredients, they must be used correctly. Here is my guide on acids, in which I explain in detail how you should use them.
There are certain recommendations that we must take into account whenever we use acids, such as always applying them in our PM routines, not combining them with each other (or with other ingredients with which they are incompatible) and using sunscreen every morning.
One of the things I like most about acids is how effective they are. They help us improve our skin tone and texture, get rid of blemishes, and improve wrinkles and fine lines. Sounds good, right? However, precisely as a consequence of this great effectiveness, we should not abuse them, since we can end up overexfoliating and damaging the skin barrier, which will have very negative consequences. Once you have read my guide on how to start adding acids into your beauty routine, it is best to start one day a week (as long as you have not had problems doing the patch test) and, as your skin acquires tolerance, increasing the frequency little by little until using it three or four times a week, tops. I assure you that you will get a great result.
9. APPLYING PRODUCTS DIRECTLY ON YOUR FACE.
On more than one occasion I have seen people applying cosmetics directly to their face with the dropper or applicator from the bottle.
There are several reasons why you should apply all products on your hand before spreading them on the skin. First of all, if you directly use the dropper or the applicator to spread the product, it is very easy to end up contaminating it and unnecessarily exposing all the product inside the container to microorganisms and particles on your face (which can accelerate its expiration). In addition, by applying the product in your hand first, you can better control the amount you use, thus ensuring you do not use too much (or too little).
10. NOT BEING PATIENT AND CONSTANT WITH YOUR SKINCARE ROUTINES.
There are two very basic and very important factors for our beauty routines to be effective. The first is very simple: you must apply the products in the correct order, since otherwise your skin will not absorb them correctly and the routine will not provide you the results it should. In this other article I talk about the proper order to apply the products of your skincare routine. The other factor is consistency. Sometimes we want our routine to start giving great results from the first moment, but we have to be constant to see its results.
Here I want to mention another common mistake, and that is that we often want to use too many products at the same time or constantly change them. Not by using many very powerful actives at the same time we will achieve better results, in fact it is easy for us to achieve the opposite effect. It is better to incorporate new products into our routines little by little than using them all at once. As I said before, we must be patient so that our skincare routines provide us with everything we are looking for.
I hope this post has helped you identify some of the most common mistakes in your skincare routine so that you can start correcting them from now on. Did you commit any of them? Are there any others you haven’t found on this list? Tell me in the comments section!
If you liked this article and want to continue learning about how to take better care of your skin, you will be interested in reading these others:
Do you want to learn to take better care of your skin? You can see an index of all my informative posts here.
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I’m Nacho and I’m passionate about skincare. I really enjoy learning and sharing my knowledge about skincare and I read scientific papers so you don’t have to. I want to break stereotypes because I believe skincare has no gender: skin is skin.
This is such an interesting read, Nacho. My biggest mistake is not letting products do their thing before applying the next one. Sometimes I’m rushing through my routine, and not taking my time!!
Hi Richard, welcome to my blog! 😊
Sometimes it’s easy to be impatient with skincare, but I think it’s not the biggest mistake of them all! 😉
Have a wonderful day,
Nacho.